Nick Tucker drops down the order at Reading Cricket Club

And he says he leaves the role with the club in better shape than they have been for some time.

The news comes in the same week that 1st XI skipper Dave Barr confirmed he is also leaving at the end of the season as he is moving out of the area.

Tucker, however, is staying at Sonning Lane and will continue to play for the 3rd XI.

He feels he cannot devote enough time to the role of chairman due to family commitments.

“When I took over my aim was to get the club in a secure financial position,” said Tucker, who earlier this season sealed a sponsorship deal with IT company Virtek.

“Then at the start of the current season I wanted to see the club return to the Home Counties Premier League and that is also going to happen.

“Dave Barr deserves a lot of credit for that. He worked very hard last winter getting a team together and it has paid off.

“Although he is now sadly going I hope the team will continue to prosper and bring top-class cricket back to the club.”

Who takes over from Tucker will not be confirmed until the annual meeting, but he is confident there are plenty of members prepared to keep the club going in the right direction.

In recent years there has been a lot of speculation at Sonning Lane that the cricket section might lose their main square in order to accommodate another hockey pitch.

Tucker led strong opposition and is confident it will not happen.

Reading will need to replace Barr, who is leaving to join a school on the Derbyshire/Nottingham border, as well as young opening batsmen Paul De Chaud and Gareth Harte, who have already returned to South Africa.

But Reading are hoping that both Aussie paceman Alex Patterson and all-rounder Max O’Dowd, a New Zealander with a Dutch passport, will return for a second season.

“There are a lot of talented youngsters at the club,” said Tucker.

“They will have learned a lot from this season and the club’s future is looking good.”

Reading may give the captaincy role to one of their young players, with wicketkeeper Sukhi Kang in the frame.

Kidmore party

Sukhi Kang made a big impression in the annual Presidents v Chairmans challenge match at Kidmore End on Sunday.

Playing for chairman John Sheldon’s side, he broke his bat and hit a six onto the pavilion roof on his way to 119no in a total of 242-5 to earn his side a five-wicket win.

In addition to the cricket, there were many other attractions at the Gallowstree Common ground and the day was well attended with several former members also turning up.

John Sheldon said: “It was just not a cricket game, but an entertaining day out for the whole village.

“It was good to see so many youngsters here as they are the club’s future.

“Everyone had a thoroughly good time.”

Sadlers End boost

The England Cricket Board were so impressed by Wokingham Cricket Club’s staging of the national women’s Twenty20 finals day on Monday that they immediately awarded them another top fixture.

The Women’s County Championship Division 1 final between Kent, who include England skipper Charlotte Edwards, and Essex is to be played at Sadlers End on Sunday at 11am.

Berkshire’s director of cricket Danny Hall also praised the facilities when he visited the ground for the first time last Monday and earmarked it as a future venue for the men’s first XI.

US-bound Beddow

Calcot-based golf commentator Steve Beddow will be part of Sky TV’s team for next month’s Ryder Cup in Chicago.

He will be involved in their 3D coverage of the showdown between the USA and Britain & Europe.